At this point, it's not too dramatic to say that the Guardians' playoff hopes have almost disappeared. Things were already slipping before the trade deadline, then a sell-off led to a truly disastrous series against the Astros.
Cleveland was originally favored to win the AL Central when the markets first opened for the 2023 season, and things obviously have gone sideways since then. But what happened? Why the fall from grace?
Here are the three biggest offseason blunders that led to the Guardians' struggles this season.
Guardians Offseason Mistakes
1. Signing Josh Bell
The best thing I can say about how the Josh Bell signing played out is that we were able to get rid of him before that $16 million player option could be exercised for 2024. But the fact remains that we paid him $1.5 million per home run this year.
I don't want to pretend I'm clairvoyant and knew Bell would only slash .233/.318/.383 for Cleveland, but there were definite warning signs. I mean, he didn't even hit over the Mendoza line in his time with the Padres.
But it's deeper than that. It wasn't just poor production, but worrying advanced numbers that popped up last season.
Bell’s final two seasons in Pittsburgh saw him post hard-hit rates of 45.5% and 41.4%. That dropped to 37.5% in 2021 and 29.6% in 2022, while his soft-hit rate ballooned to 17.1%.
Paying significant money and making Bell an everyday starter was a constant headache right up until we sent him off to Miami.
2. Blowing Up the Catcher Position
Look, I'm as excited about Bo Naylor as the next Guardians fan, but there's probably not a position we effed up more holistically than the catcher spot this offseason.
Production from catchers we let walk:
- Luke Maile: slashing .241/.292/.429 for the Reds
- Austin Hedges: Second among all catchers with a 16.0 in FanGraphs' defensive metric (DEF)
Our catchers:
- MIke Zunino: Released after slashing .177/.271/.306 with a 1.6 DEF
- Bo Naylor: Slashing .209/.277/.395, 0.7 DEF
- Cam Gallagher: Slashing .135/.171/.180, 5.8 DEF
So sure, it's nice to see Naylor get some extended playing time, but that long-term view obviously wasn't the path we were trying to take in the offseason. Instead we were forced into that approach by totally screwing things up.
Like Bell, there were also massive warning signs with the Zunino addition. He had been great in 2021, but his 2022 season was downright terrible, and banking on the 32-year-old suddenly rebounding was foolish.
3. Sticking With Myles Straw
We had a bit of a logjam in the outfield over the offseason, and it was inexcusable to stick with Myles Straw, especially at the expense of Nolan Jones.
Straw was terrific in the outfield in 2022, but that was a one-year sample as an elite fielder and not something to use as the core of long-term decisions, especially when that “breakout” came at 27 years old.
He was absolutely brutal at the dish last year too, so really that fielding was his only saving grace.
Well what do you know, he didn’t actually suddenly flip a switch in the middle of his career, and in 2023 he’s still been terrible at the plate and has also failed to contribute in the field.
So now we have a guy with a sub-.600 OPS (again) who isn't fielding well. Oh, and he's owed $18.7 million over the next three seasons combined.
Even in win-now mode, it didn't feel great relying on Straw, and now he's also blocking young outfield prospects from getting playing time. A real win-win.
Whether you want to bet on the Guardians or against them, DraftKings is the best place to do it. New users who sign up through the exclusive Factory of Sadness link below will get a $150 bonus guaranteed as soon as they place their first bet of $5 or more. You don't even need to wait to see if that bet wins or loses, the full bonus pays out automatically. So cash in now while you still can!
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER